Thoughts

So... this blogging thing. Weird, isn't it?

I think of it as a little like money. You either have plenty because you work but no time to spend any, or time to spend money because you don't work and therefor don't have any. With this blog... I have a busy life, so lots to write about. But no time to write about it! Added to that is the issue of confidentiality with my job, and I end up with lots I want to say, very little I can say, and no time to say it.

I used to compose posts in my head and champ at the bit to get home to write them down. These days these thoughts come to me in facebook updates. The time I want to give to composing just isn't there. All my thoughts are posted as they occur, and I don't want to repeat myself here.

And I am at the point in my life where the world is shrinking. The connection I have with my husband is wonderful. Whatever happens, we have fun and I don't have to be anything except myself (it was just our first anniversary by the way!). The downside of this is that I am kind of getting rusty with the ol' small talk. Don't get me wrong, I have yet to meet a parent teacher night the butt of which I cannot kick. But when it comes to the social thing... I struggle with the transition between acquaintance and friend. Honestly, I think I am most charming and interesting when I don't know people at all.

So this shrinking thing? It was my yr 10 ten year reunion yesterday. I've been battling with the migraines again and was really not well enough to go. And this morning I'm looking at the requisite pics on facebook and thinking "I have no idea what I would have said to any of these people". I can count my friends on my fingers. And of those friends, the ones I manage to keep in contact with I can count on my thumbs. And I feel like I should feel worse about this.

Anyway, the tangential nature of this post reflects a) the fact that I no longer edit the poop out of my posts, b) the tail end of my latest migraine and c) a possible crisis of identity.

But there are socks!Apparently my limited brain power of late has made me susceptible to the deep and calming persuasion of the sock. I've just looked back over my rav projects, and I've finished 7 pairs since the end of August, and have two pairs on the go. More details here: rav link.

I also made another cropped cardigan: Bright Star from Twist Collective in Cleckheaton Country 8ply.
I love the idea of a cropped cardi, but am having trouble finding a colour I can wear that works for this type of garment. All the cute ones I see are bright red or yellow, and I look pretty unwell in both of those. Navy works well for me, but is kind of hard to accessorise. There are only so many white tops I have...

Anyway, a nice wingey, confusing post. Hope to get in another one soonish. Still have no solution to the issue of confidentiality vs. needing to get the hilarity off my chest... I'm open to suggestions, if there's anyone still out there ;)

Peace out
Ms Spider xox

And life goes on (and on)

Well, the best laid plans, eh?
Life has this way of kicking you when you're down, have you noticed?

I continue to faint for no apparent reason.
The job continues to be hard, thankless work.

And then, miraculously and without warning, the clouds part and the sun shines through.

Being a week away from the school holidays is probably partly responsible for my sudden cheer. The husband and I are taking a little trip next weekend - his idea. The theory was that if I get out of Canberra as soon as the term ends, I'll adjust to being on holiday faster.
I do have a tendency to develop what I refer to as a 'stress hangover'. Basically I spend a week swinging between anxiety that I've missed non-existent deadlines and depression. It's really annoying, because most breaks are two weeks, and at best I manage three days of feeling relaxed before I start worrying about the term to come.

Anyway, we're going to a B&B in the Hunter Valley and I'm really looking forward to it. I think I'm closer to burn-out than I ever have been before.

My couch-surfer returned home and things seem to have stabilised. It was amazingly stressful and I didn't fully catch up on work until about three weeks into this term. And the term itself was shitful, for want of a better word. One of my colleagues resigned, someone else went on long service leave and we were all left to pick up the pieces. For the last two weeks I have been taking an extra class to keep everything ticking over and I tell you what - overtime needs to be introduced for teachers. In the last ten weeks I had flu and a baaaaad migraine. So, basically, I need a holiday!

Despite it all, I have been knitting away. I finished my fifth cardigan for the year - Cecilia by Elin Berglund. Ravelry entry here.I used Patons Dreamtime 4ply in cream. It was a brand-new bag of ten and had many, many dye-lot inconsistencies! I've very unhappy about the yarn - I'm a bit of a freak with colour, so it's really obvious to me, but no-one I've shown it to notices it unless I hold it under very bright light and point to the streak. But still! What's the point of a dye-lot if it isn't consistent?
Anyway, I do adore the pattern, and as soon as it warms up a little I think I'll be wearing it a lot.

Since this I've had some ennui, and really want to knit another garment of some type but can't make a decision. Instead I've been knitting a large number of accessories.

This is a Drops scarf, using short-row shaping to create the ruffles. It was a birthday present for a close friend. I used 4ply baby alpaca - it was cherry red but I overdyed it so it was more of a dappled brick colour. She loves it!
This week I knitted up some handspun. I spun it over the last set of holidays. It was a 50g bag of fibre dyversity space-dyed merino. I split it in half along the roving, and spun two bobbins of very fine singles, keeping the colours in order. I then plied then together, creating a sort of DIY two-ply noro! I really love the colours, and the fibre is so soft :) not at all like noro.

And this week, I finished a pair of socks that have been sitting around for a couple of months. My usual cabled and ribbed sock pattern - I've knit many, many different sock patterns, but this is the pattern I always return to. I used Moda Vera Adore in the green colourway. Quite pretty :)

An upcoming project is a reworking of this cardigan for my mother-in-law. It's her favourite cardigan, and she wants another. The original is an acrylic/mohair blend, and I'm making the new one in Zhivago. It's a bit of a chore, honestly. I don't particularly like it, and she's not a knitter so doesn't really understand the work involved. Liable to nag about progress etc. But, ever the matyr I agreed to do it. :p I think, honestly, I think it will make her like me more, which is so pathetic I can't believe myself. Oh well! Ever human, eh?

Anyway, it's my first Sunday for months that I don't have to work through, and I have a lovely friend coming over in half an hour!

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

it's 2009 already?

whoops! It seems being on holidays has not improved my time-keeping any. I've been playing with flickr mosaics (havent we all) but before I show you that, I'll quickly squeeze in the last few knits for 2008.

My Nightsong Shawl, knit from my own 2-ply lace-weight hand-spun, from EGMTK's merino/silk in Octopus' Garden.
The last couple of repeats really felt like they were dragging but when I actually checked on ravelry.. it took me 8 days. I think that's my new record! and it's full-sized too!
I havent got around to snapping it after being rescued from blocking - that's our queen-sized bed it's blocking on to give a size indication. I love it! :) You can't really see but each point has a clear silver-core glass bead threaded onto it.

Also, on New Year's Eve I finished off my Naive socks in Trekking. These were almost instantly gifted to the lovely Heather, my future SIL. (and no, I can't be bothered fixing the photo. They're socks, whatever way up.)

As for wedding stuff - blech! We're planning, tentatively, for October 2009. And it is doing my head in! Finding a balance between 'dodgy' and 'affordable', 'inviting who I like' and 'not pissing off the rellies' and 'doing it all myself' and 'forgetting about it til the last minute' is... well... I'm glad I'm on holidays.
In some respects I am very lucky. My parents are total hippies with no ties to tradition and my Mum really doesnt care. This has the wonderful silver-lining of meaning she doesnt think I should have to invite rellies who openly hate me or havent seen me since I was 1. This also has a down side: my Mum really doesnt care. So I can't mention it to her or she just says "oh how horrible, why don't you just elope?". Which, while I see her point, is rather like knitting someone a very elaborate and mind-numbing lace shawl and being told "why dont you just buy them a scarf?".
It's early days and I am still in enough of my senses to be vaguely on top of things. Our net being down for three or four days REALLY didnt help, so I'm fairly confident I'll get it together... if i can only work out what sort of dress I want (no, not knitted. am not quite that mad yet.).

Oh ok, mosaic.
I was going to do 2008 in knitting and spinning but got bored so here is the last 6 months or so.



1. Handspun Nightsong Shawl 2. Indigo Ripples Skirt 3. Starburst Sweater 4. Starburst Sweater detail 5. Sea Surf Scarf (handspun) 6. Flora cap 7. Loop-through scarf 8. Naive socks 9. Casablanca 10. Slubby handspun, Hippie Heaven 11. navajo plied BFL/soy, Boutique Skies 12. Scalloped Edge Hat (handspun) 13. Jaywalkers 14. Flutter Sleeve Cardigan 15. Catch-me-if-you-can-socks in HappySpider Kelp Forest 16. Process of spinning for Nightsong shawl 17. BFL/soy fibre from EGMTK 18. Sock-it-to-me scarf (handspun) 19. Laceweight handspun with 5c for scale 20. Sayuri Sweater 21. Viking Battle Bonnet 22. Catch-me-if-you-can-socks 23. Scallop-edge beaded necklace 24. Devil hat 25. Owl 6-ply socks 26. Mohawk beanie 27. short-circuit scarf 28. BSJ in HappySpider Pansies 29. Felted clogs 30. Hanspun merino 2ply 31. Felted clogs 32. Spider Socks in Swamp Beast 33. Square for Jet blanket 34. handspun tinsel 35. Merino and Angora, navajo plied in Big Top from EGMTK

Ok, and now I'm being told it's bed time.

Happy New Year, I hope everyone has the best 2009 possible.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xoxo

stupid contagions

What is it with Spring?
Something about all the flowers, the greens, the cool nights and warm days, the sweet-smelling breezes and longer daytime... everyone around me gets hay fever and I come down with Startitis. There seems to be a bit of this going around.
I had been doing so well. Was really quite faithful to the black-shrug-o-doom. Had to frog back cause I realised the pattern was be-cucked and decided it was going to be way easier if I altered the gauge a little and just worked from the chart for the lace... and worked the rest out for myself. So I am much happier with the project but was still deluding myself a week ago that I could finish it for, err, today. On about Tuesday my hands started to cramp up from being too faithful to one needle size and... I admitted defeat. To be fair, Taph had reached the conclusion that I couldn't do it in time a lot earlier, but was graceful as always.
So... the sensible thing to do would be to finish it, right? get it out of the way? keep plugging away at a sensible rate?
Fortunately, I have never been accused of being sensible. "Completely barking" is the way it's usually phrased, I believe (bitches bark too, y'know).
So, flush from the "release" from a deadline... I've been covetting many projects. I tried to restrain myself, knitting only my bus socks and my Casablanca top (started 3 weeks ago when we were going on a car trip and I couldnt face the socks and didnt want to get coastal grit in my cashmere). And I did quite well. For me. Finished one sock and got halfway down the leg of the second. Got about halfway down the bodice of Casablanca....

And then I cast on this. I could kick myself if I wasn't enjoying it so much! It's the Starburst Sweater from styledbykristin in Patons Jet (yes, I'm knitting alpaca blend in warm weather - give me a kick!)
I at least have faith that once the funky lace patterned back bit is finished I'll probably lose interest for a while. But for now, I'm rather enjoying myself.

If i can just focus on these four projects and not cast on the other 40 I want to... I might actually finish something before Christmas!
Oh, and stop spinning...
Happy weekend!
Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

holi-yay!

Whoops! More time has passed than anticipated.
In the past 19 days, Monkey turned 23, i tested negative for coeliac's, i finished another pair of frilly socks, my flutter sleeve cardigan, my handspun scarf, my green diamond socks and school for the term. This is a great relief and I am celebrating by 'acting weird' (according to Monkey) and running about doing all sorts of things.(spring also arrived at chez spidey)
firstly the coeliac's thing. It is highly likely that i have either coeliac's or Non-Coeliac Gluten Intolerance (try saying that three times fast) but as it is so likely... i stopped eating gluten ages ago. Well before i took the blood test. so (i now know but didnt at the time) i would test negative no matter what because the little doovies wouldn't be active. Anyway, we're just making like I do have it because when i eat it by accident I feel wretched for days and I'm not inclined to munch on pasta for a week just to get a piece of paper that says: "you shouldn't eat pasta because it will make you feel like shite".
knitting!
these are more frilly cuff socks in my own sock yarn, colourway Kelp Forest. I LUB them. so fun! My mods on the pattern were to up the needle size a bit and decrease the stitch number to 64 and they fit really well.
I also finished my flutter sleeve cardi in time to wear on the last day of term. I like it a lot, but it's not much like anything else I own. I've never really understood the whole short-sleeved-cardigan thing, so I think it might take me a little while to get used to wearing it. If I were to make it again I would make horizontal button-holes, as the vertical ones were far too saggy in cotton and i had to reinforce them.

Also, pretty handspun scarf. Single spun from EGMTK merino/silk in Alchemy. Purdy.

Yesterday we went to Floriade. I took my camera but it was damn near impossible to get a pic of flowers without 40,000 other people and... well. we took a little break under a willow tree and took self-photos instead.Check out monkey's owl socks!Hee hee hee hee hee!Self-snap fun (the only one where monkey was not scowling or pretending to eat my face) I also caved in (for the third time) at Belissa and purchased another skein of their hand-dyed cashmere laceweight. It's 25 grams and I got my little forest canopy shawl out of a skein of this a couple of years ago. It gets more expensive every time i buy it - three years ago it was $28, 2 years ago $35 and yesterday $38. but it is such lovely yarn... i guess i forgive them. and it's still a pretty good price for hand-dyed pure cashmere that wears like a dream (it just keeps blooming!)


RANT
On saturday evening, Monkey and I went out to dinner and a movie with Monkey sister and her boy. we had dinner at Cream in civic. Now, I have an allergy to chilli. It won't kill me (as far as I know) but I am very sensitive to it, it makes my lips puff up, my entire mouth/nose/face hurt and burn and gives me tummy aches. I was already limited in choice because of the whole damn gluten free thing but they had a risotto that sounded nice. Except: it had chilli in it.
I have dealt with this forever and have no faith in restaurants, so i started looking at the salads (used to be fairly safe to choose a salad, but watch out! every amateur or trendy chef in the world throws chilli in instead of learning anything about flavours, herbs and spices). Everyone at our table got indignant that i should be forced to eat something green (heh heh) and hailed over a waiter.
"Can we order the risotto without chilli?" "Yes, of course you can" "it's not an issue of how hot it is, we have someone with an allergy." "Yes sir, that's fine" "You understand, she can't have any chilli" "yes sir."

So i order the risotto. And before I had even swallowed my first mouthful my reactions kick in.
we hail over a waitress with too much makeup on.
"excuse me, we ordered this risotto without chilli." "Yes sir" "well it has chilli in it" "I did tell the chef" "well it has chilli in it, could you ask?"
waitress with too much makeup on goes and talks to the chef for a while, while i mutter under my breath, mortified about being that person at our table.
ditzy waitress returns.
"chef left the chilli out of the risotto but he used the Master Stock which has chilli in it. But it's not hot" Smiles and drifts off.

So i ate Monkey's caeser salad and he ate a bit of my risotto. When it came to paying, Monkey's very brave sister went and had a go at them and we got the risotto for free... but it really got to me.

I was so embarrassed. nobody ever takes the chilli thing seriously, they make me feel like some pathetic loser who can't cope with a little heat. If i said I had a peanut allergy would anyone have the nerve to suggest "it's not very peanut-t, i doubt you'll even notice". It's not like I'm just some fussy person - it makes me very uncomfortable and if i'm paying for a nice dinner i kinda expect not to have an avoidable allergic reaction while eating it, especially when they are pre-warned.
Anyway, the long and short of it is: i won't be back and they're bloody lucky I'm not anaphylactic.

Anywho, I have things to knit, things to spin and bunnies to wrangle so i shall leave you all to it.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. i dont usually rely on other people to talk for me, but i get so embarrassed about the food stuff that monkey just sort of takes over.

Anything you Say-uri

Presenting the lush and lovely Sayuri sweater from Sensual Knits by Yahaira Ferreira.I finished it on Sunday morning and fell deeply in love.
I am less in love, however, with the fact that I cannot both pose for a photograph and take the photograph that I want."aw crap, you've got my butt in the shot, don't you?"
It is, of course, not Monkey's fault that it doesn't occur to him to fuss around to find the most flattering angle or backdrop. He rather likes my little (ha!) belly and so does not see a problem with taking photos that show it off.
He similarly has no problem with weird facial expressions that are the result of taking photos while I am explaining what I want."Monkey, if you are not careful I will look thiiiiiis big!"

Also, not being me, he doesn't think about framing the picture to best show off the garment or to make me look as svelte (and, lets face it, un-me) as possible. Sometimes having someone who loves you no matter what you look like is strangely frustrating, no?
I know we are all aware of this problem with socks, but there are ways around it. Generally, feet all look the same. Socks all looks similar. If what we see is not foot-shaped or sock-shaped we can assume there was an angle problem, a swelling problem or perhaps a gauge problem. And you can always pose them on your sock blockers, if you have them.
Bigger garments though? Those can be problematic.
In the past I have used the 'artistic i-might-be-blocking' type shot for when I have no photographer and little self-esteem.

Surplice Bodice Camisole by Joan McGowan-Michael

There is also the joy of having a dressmakers dummy on hand for some photos.

Back-to-School U-Neck Vest by Stefanie Japel

But using Arabella always seems like cheating to me. Anyone who has met me knows I am not built like that. When I use her for sewing there is adjusting and padding attached to get things right. Plus... I can't always make things that don't clash with the bright, bright red.

So I fall back upon old faithful - the awkward pose in a grubby bathroom mirror. Not all that glamorous really.
Specs:
I made no changes to the pattern except for a few less rounds of the linen stitch waist-band because I was getting a larger row gauge in that stitch.
The yarn is Naturally Yarns Merino et Soie 8 ply and it is DIVINE. I used just under 10 balls and there was only one join in the whole batch! It's lovely to work with, doesnt shed... just. gorgeous.
I got gauge on 5mm addis and then did the i-cord collar on 4.5mm dpns.
I love it.

Also finished a pair of frilly socks on Monday. They are so dorky but very fun. It's like wearing really nice knickers or something, they make me happy.

Went and had a blood test today to check for Coeliac's Disease. This is the most obvious explanation for... well... ALL of my health problems. I'm trying not to dwell, but I did an assignment on the disease in year 9 and I ASKED MY DOCTOR IF IT WAS POSSIBLE. HE SAID NO. Eight years later and the list of symptoms looks like I wrote a quick list of everything that bothers me in a week. Including weak tooth enamel!!!! BASTARD!

cough

sorry. I am trying not to be bitter... but seriously! Someone pass me some knitting, please.

Peace out
Ms Spider xo

named!

Well, it really was no contest. The new wheel is henceforth to be known as Crispin. Thanks Twitchy Fingers! Keep an eye out for the postie.
nothing to add to this post except a sock. Knit the last round of the cuff on the bus and cast off when I got to work (you can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same... it was minutes away from being finished!). I did mod it a bit, but it's bed-time so I'll explain later. Still not sold on the afterthought/forethought heel.

the school knitting group raffle gets drawn tomorrow... and so I feel the need to cleanse my soul. The raffle was my idea and I made a lot of stuff for it... but i think my idea was driven more by a desire to cover the kids i treasure with knitwear than earn us any money. Is that a little sad or what? Forget my mother, I'm turning into my grandmother. I'll know the transition is complete when I can't go into class without a few trays of biscuits and loud complaints that they are all "so skeeeny darlink".

Peace,
Ms Spider xo

pardon the sound track

Just sat down to blog and had a total brain-fart... have no clue what I last said. Excuse me for a moment while I re-read my own drivel...

*insert elevator music type rendition of the girl from ipanema*

Ah-ha! You'd think I'd remember something crucial like finding out why I'm sick all the time but apparently amnesia is one of my symptoms. ba-boom-ch

So, I've had a week of D3 and Iron supplements and one of my B12 shots. I'm probably feeling heaps better but have wicked PMS at the moment so I can't actually be objective about that. Also we are going to avoid talking about that stuff because I might get cranky and say something I will regret later.
So instead of the pity party, I'm going to show you some knitting ("really? Knitting? on a knitting blog?") I know, I know. It's not like I ever stop.. it just becomes sort of subconscious when it's my main coping strategy and i forget to show it off. But seriously, it's a bad sign when you're consistently boring even yourself.

*elevator music again while i look at ravelry and try to remember what I've been knitting*

Ok, so a little while ago I started Sayuri from Sensual Knits (Rav link, pardonez-moi). I am using Naturally Yarns Merino et Soie 8 ply (Rav again, sorry) in colour... 212, which is a really sensational deep blue with paler silk running through it. Smooth, lush and silky (dur). After a marathon effort this week I managed to finish the top half and sleeves and am now knitting the body. This is a nifty pattern in that you cast on the back at just below bust height (no, not that you have boob-olahs on your back but you know what I mean), increase a bit and then cast on a gazillion or so stitches on either side for the sleeves. You knit until the sleeves are a gazillion inches long and then cast off the middle bits for the back of the neck. You see where we are going? You then knit each front piece including conjoined sleeve seperately and increase to create a deep v neck. Then you join the pieces again and do a nifty bit of linen stitch at the waist and continue down with shaping. There may be some mention of an I-cord type attachment around neckline, but I'll hyperventilate over that when I come to it.
Of course, once the top bit is done it seems ingenious. While you're knitting those gazillion stitches for a gazillion inches it seems bloody stupid.
Happy with the results though :) gorgeous drape on the sleeves.

I finished Monkey's birthday socks today. His birthday is Sept 19th (talk like a pirate day, appropriately) but I'm not laying any bets that I'll hold out til then. He really does have the puppy-dog eyes down pat. (And apparently the socks are haunted... nice aura!)
Oh, yeah, it's Opal Rainforest 6-ply in the Owl colourway. And it is MANLY. Not pretty. Thank you.

I also had a mental blip and forgot my bias against toe-up socks, and am now knitting these from 101 designer one-skein-wonders (seriously cute book if you find yourself doing a lot of gift knits). The pic on rav is useless because it doesnt show the best bit - frilly cuff! (apparently I am seven at heart). Mock at will, it has been done already and I am (relatively) immune. Perhaps those in Jazz Santa Suits should not throw stones? ;)

Also, the bunnies have been immensely good company in my time of need (except they keep hijacking me for my biscotti! fiends!). I shall leave you with a suitably nauseating tableau. (He who shall cast the first stone something something... we're all gross with our pets, right?)(We like to rub noses... do I need to explain that?)(Oh, and excuse standard 'i am at home' uniform, I had just woken up from a nap on the couch... and that's biscotti he is taking out of my mouth, not sputem or anything, ok? Monkey says it's almost a very romantic sequence except Monty is a rabbit)(and just because Winnie was feeling a bit left out, isn't she lovely? Though she is not a fan of the paparazzi)

Tomorrow is TOM so I need my not-so-fugly sleep. I''ll be the one in the all-cheering section knitting frilly socks!

Peace out
Ms Spider xo

I've been busier than I thought

Well, I'm ridiculously pleased with myself:
Voila! the completed sleeve portion of the seashell shrug! Only 6 months in the making... phew. I've been a very responsible little puppy and washed the piece. After 6 months i figure it wouldnt hurt to rinse the dust off it, right?
Yesterday I finished my Moses Fire socks too. Ooh, that pic is blurrier than i thought. Let's just pretend it's the cashmere fuzz, k? They were meant to be for me but i think i need to gift them to a woman at my work who's been just the most amazing source of support over the last month or so. It's not like I've been teaching long enough to have any decent advice or resources to offer her, and i know she'll appreciate them.
Also started a lace shrug on friday. It's going to be for Taph who needs one in October and does not have the lace-is-fun chromosome in her genetic makeup. It was originally going to be in a frugalled coned 3-ply but clearly I am a decadent hedonist because i succumbed and purchased some 2ply cashmere (from here) because it would be so much nicer to knit with... and of course, to wear.
Having finished the red socks i cast on some green ones so I wouldn't be without bus knitting tomorrow morning. It's the Catherine pattern from ravelry using Filati Bacio. I am surprised at this yarn! It's 50/50 wool and ack which is a little too much ack for me usually... but it's a gorgeous yarn.
I love European yarns for this reason; when they use acrylic, it's to improve the yarn. They do it so well! In Australia, ack always gives the impression that it was chucked into the mix because it was cheap. Katia, GGH and Filati... the ack is to improve wear, soften the yarn up, do something special. I respect that. It's the yarn first, you know?
Anyway, my point is - this is a very nice sock yarn and I'm sure it will wear like a dream. And of course the colours are sensational.
Oh, and I finished Francis on Thursday night - mad dash to have something warm to wear on Friday!Photos are not great because, as usual, i dont have a photographer or decent light, but you get the idea. It is my new favourite - so soft, so warm! No seaming! yummeh!

I'm sure there are heaps of other little WIPs running around but that's enough for now. i dont want you all thinking I'm a crazy person.

One week and then it's mid-year holidays! Expect slightly more lucidity soon-ish.

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. Big clicks to Georgie who added to her family tree on Friday. I wonder who cleaned up on the due-date bets?

it's the final countdown

13 days til the Canberra SnB stall at the OBDM
I have one question: how am I supposed to part with all the dyeing I've been doing?



Also, I have become endlessly entertained with.. baby socks.Not pregnant, I promise. Just enchanted by a quick finish...

Peace out,
Ms Spider xo

PS. thanks for all the helpful comments re vertigo. I think it is Labyrinthitis but it's calmed down and I'm only having the odd spell now. and i can deal with that. plus i dont have time to see a doctor so it's a good thing. But yes, all the suggestions were much appreciated - dont you just love the internets?